The Press: The Measure of Conscience

"When the average Frenchman feels worried about the situation, he buys
Le Monde," muses Le Monde's Editorial Director Hubert Beuve-Méry. "We
have learned to increase the print automatically during periods of
worry and uncertainty, and our circulation jumps to 300,000 during
times of crisis. It is events such as the accouchement of Brigitte
Bardot or Queen Elizabeth which send our competitors' sales soaring.
For us it is a political crisis."

Last week Le Monde's sales indicated a period somewhere between
uncertainty and crisis. Contained in Le Monde's 16 somber pages were
reports on...